A small dipole-fed resonant reflector antenna with high efficiency, low cross polarization, and low sidelobes

The computer-aided optimization of a small five-wavelength diameter reflector antenna with a center-supported dipole-disk feed is described. The primary radiation is controlled by using a patented beamforming ring to give low cross polarization and low sidelobes due to spillover. The efficiency is maximized by controlling and taking advantage of the multiple reflections between the feed and the reflector. This has inspired the name "resonant reflector antenna." The gain from the feed reflector resonances is so large that it compensates almost completely for the about 1 dB loss due to center blockage of the aperture.     

A comparison among 1-, 3-, and 7-horn feeds for a 37-beam MBA

A very common multiple beam antenna (MBA) configuration consists of a collimating device illuminated by an array of feeds. The collimating device is usually a reflector or a lens. The feeds are usually horn antennas with a circular aperture. The reflector is usually offset-fed to eliminate aperture blockage; the lens is center fed. The antenna's feeds are excited to produce a finite number of beams, so as to provide contiguous coverage of the field of view. The designer is forced to minimize the angular spacing between adjacent beams in order to maximize the minimum gain over the antenna's field of view. On the other hand, the feed horn's aperture gain is maximized when the feed horn spacing and its aperture diameter are equal. This results in antenna efficiency of the order of 30% when a single feed horn is excited to produce a beam. When a cluster of 3 or 7 adjacent feed horns are excited to produce a single beam, antenna efficiency can be increased to 50%. When it is tolerable, several identical antenna apertures can be used to replace a single aperture configuration. In this case, each of M apertures produces approximately N/M beams of an MBA that produces N beams. Horns producing adjacent beams do not illuminate the same aperture. This permits the use of a much larger horn aperture for a given beam spacing. This results in reduced spillover, higher gain of each beam, and increased antenna efficiency of each aperture. This paper investigates the maximization of gain for several lens antennas. It shows that antenna gain is increased as its focal length is decreased. That is, a focal length-to-diameter ratio (F/D) less than 1 is preferred     

Aperture feed for a spherical reflector

The problem of designing a feed system for illuminating a spherical reflector is examined. A method is proposed for specifying the required field distribution over the aperture of the feed system, and the primary illumination and gain resulting from this distribution are derived. The results indicate that a significantly smaller feed aperture can be employed than would be indicated by conventional ray tracing methods. Specific numerical results are obtained by taking the Arecibo antenna as an example, for which a calculated aperture efficiency of 67.5 percent is possible with approximately a 38-foot-diameter aperture feed.     

Beam diffraction by planar and parabolic reflectors

In the complex source point technique, an omnidirectional source diffraction solution becomes that for a directive beam when the coordinates of the source position are given appropriate complex values. This is applied to include feed directivity in reflector edge diffraction. Solutions and numerical examples for planar strip and parabolic cylinder reflectors are given, including an offset parabolic reflector. The main beams of parabolic reflectors are calculated by aperture integration and the edge diffracted fields by uniform diffraction theory. In both cases, a complex source point feed in the near or far field of the reflector may be used in the pattern calculation, with improvements in accuracy in the lateral and spillover pattern lobes     

Scanning properties of large dual-shaped offset and symmetricreflector antennas

The scanning properties of shaped reflectors, both offset and circularly symmetric, are examined and compared to conic section scanning characteristics. Scanning of the pencil beam is obtained by lateral and axial translation of a single point source feed. The feed is kept pointed toward the center of the subreflector. The effects of power spillover and aperture phase error as a function beam scanning are examined for several different types of large reflector design including dual-offset, circularly symmetric large f/D, and smaller f/D dual reflector antenna system. It is shown that the Abbe-sine condition for improved scanning of an optical system cannot, inherently, be satisfied in a dual-shaped reflector system that is shaped for high gain and low feed spillover. The gain loss, with scanning, of a high-gain shaped reflector pair is demonstrated to be due to both aperture phase error loss and power spillover loss     

A scattering matrix-based beamformer for wide-angle scanning in hybrid antennas

This paper presents a new approach to beamforming in hybrid antennas. Using a scattering matrix model for the hybrid antenna system, a bidirectional transformation is developed that relates the signals at the hybrid system feed to the signals that would be present in a planar array at the location of the reflector aperture. For example, the received fields at the feed of a hybrid antenna system may be transformed into the fields at the reflector aperture, and these reflector aperture fields may then be processed as if they were received by a planar or linear array. Similarly, the desired field or current distribution across the reflector aperture when transmitting may be transformed into the required field or current distribution at the hybrid system feed. This method allows standard linear or planar array analysis and synthesis techniques to be used with the hybrid system. Examples are provided for transmit and receive weight synthesis.     

Synthesis of offset dual reflector antennas transforming a given feed illumination pattern into a specified aperture distribution

The problem of transforming a given primary feed pattern into a desired aperture field distribution through two reflections by an offset dual reflector system is investigated using the concepts of geometrical optics. A numerically rigorous solution for the reflector surfaces is developed which realizes an exact aperture phase distribution and an aperture amplitude distribution that is accurate to within an arbitrarily small numerical tolerance. However, this procedure does not always yield a smooth solution, i.e., the reflector surfaces thus realized may not be continuous or their slopes may vary too rapidly. In the event of nonexistence of a numerically rigorous smooth solution, an approximate solution that enforces the smoothness of the reflector surfaces can be obtained. In the approximate solution, only the requirement for the aperture amplitude distribution is relaxed, and the condition on the aperture phase distribution is continued to be satisfied exactly.     

A high-performance line source feed for the AIO spherical reflector

An aberration-correcting line source feed has been designed, modeled, constructed, and tested in the Arecibo reflector. The feed is a linearly polarized flat wavegnide 40-foot-long array illuminating 700 feet of the 1000-foot-diameter spherical reflector at 318 MHz. The antenna, illuminated by the new feed, yields an aperture efficiency of 70 percent with a peak gain near 56 dB, half-power beamwidth of 16.2 minutes of arc, and sidelobe levels below 4 percent of the on-axis gain. Vignetting losses are approximately 30 percent at the highest zenith angle.     

La synthèse d’antennes à deux réflecteurs conformés à alimentation décalée

A potentially economic method for upgrading the gain of the large earth reflector antenna Cassegrain system to a gain comparable to that obtainable with a dualshaped reflector antenna system is presented herein. It involves a redesign of only the subreflector portion of a Cassegrain antenna or the introduction of a subreflector feed system for a paraboloid. A pair of offset subreflectors are synthesized which will give a controllable high gain amplitude distribution in the aperture of the large paraboloid. The synthesis method that is used is based on an approximate formulation for an offset dual shaped high gain antenna where the geometrical optics energy was scattered from a subreflector and then from a second large reflector which reflected a uniform phase distribution. In the present offset dual shaped subreflector (DSS) antenna, the second reflection is from a smaller subreflector and it scatters a spherical wave that feeds a hyperboloid or feeds a large paraboloid directly. Excellent results are shown for the approximate synthesis of the DSS.     

双馈源双偏置结构星载通信多波束天线

为了使星载通信天线产生赋形波束的同时,又能辐射具有扫描特性的点波束满足特殊情形下的通信要求,提出了一种以单馈源赋形反射面天线为基础,利用另一个馈源进行副反射面赋形,补偿主反射面口径相位差的方法,从而形成高效率点波束,并通过副反射面及对应馈源横向偏焦实现点波束扫描的目的。为了检验方法的有效性,仿真实验了一副口径为2.2 m 的赋形反射面天线。实验结果表明:赋形波束在服务区内部的最小增益是30.0dBi,点波束在服务区内部及周边区域扫描时具有比赋形波束更高的增益,因此,所提方法是有效的。     

Synthesis of offset dual shaped subreflector antennas for control of Cassegrain aperture distributions

Many existing large ground reflector antennas have been designed as Cassegrain systems-i.e., paraboloid/hyperboloid combinations. Other large ground antennas are simply paraboloid designs. Upgrading the gain of these systems to a gain comparable to that obtainable with a dual shaped reflector antenna system has been an important and costly objective of many such ground stations. A potentially economic method for such an antenna upgrade is presented herein. It involves a redesign of only the subreflector portion of a Cassegrain antenna or the introduction of a subreflector feed system for a parabaloid. A pair of offset subreflectors are synthesized which will give a controllable high gain amplitude distribution in the aperture of the large paraboloid. The synthesis method that is used is based on an approximate formulation for an offset dual shaped high gain antenna that was first presented by Galindo-Israel and Mittra in 1977. In that approximate formulation, the geometrical optics (GO) energy was scattered from a subreflector and then from a second large reflector which reflected a uniform phase distribution. In the present offset dual shaped subreflector (DSS) antenna, the second reflection is from a smaller (sub) reflector and it scatters a spherical wave that feeds a hyperboloid or feeds a large paraboloid directly. Excellent results are shown for the approximate synthesis of the DSS.     

Cross polarizing effects of a water film on a parabolic reflector at microwave frequencies

The cross polarizing effects introduced by a uniform water film on the surface of a parabolic reflector are evaluated at 10 and 34 GHz. The reflector is considered to be illuminated by an isotropic linearly polarized source at the focus, but the analysis can be applied for any given primary feed aperture field distribution. The aperture cress polarized field is obtained, and a worst case diffraction field (when opposite quadrants of the reflector are wet) is then calculated. A relatively low level cross polarizing effect is predicted, dependent on diameter-to-focal-length ratio.     

Digitized Antenna Measurements

A low-cost automated measuring method is presented to determine the directive gain and relative phase of microwave antenna feed systems in digital form. Using large existing computer facilities, the output data may be used as input data to compute secondary patterns of arbitrary reflector antennas. The use of stepping motors is a key for cheaper and easier operations.     

Ka 波段EBG 天线阵列的仿真与分析

电磁带隙(EBG)天线是一种可以提高天线辐射口径及增益的新型天线,本文首先以FSS 结构作为EBG 反射面,角 锥喇叭作为辐射源,设计了一种可以工作在29.7-30.2GHz,最大增益为23dB 的EBG 天线;其次,研究了7 个喇叭构成六 边形阵列时的阵列特性;最后,将EBG 天线用作单反射面多波束天线的馈源研究了波束的覆盖特性,结果表明,当波束 大小为1.12°时,多波束天线的峰值增益为44.5dB,边缘交叠电平为40.4dB,载干比大于12dB。证明了这种EBG 天线 具有良好的工作性能,为将来小型化反射面多波束天线的设计提供了一种新的思路。     

New approach to compact measurements on reflector antennas

The letter describes a novel scheme for very compact measurements on reflector antennas. The measurement configuration involves a plane reflector located just beyond (and parallel to) the aperture plane, so that radiated power is reflected and refocused back into the feed. Measurement of return loss can then give information on antenna efficiency and gain. The basic concept is described and its performance confirmed by means of experiments on a 10 ft (3.048 m) diameter reflector. Possible methods of extending the performance of the scheme are briefly discussed.     

Leaky Wave Enhanced Feed Arrays for the Improvement of the Edge of Coverage Gain in Multibeam Reflector Antennas

The performance of multibeam focal plane arrays feeding a single aperture is usually reduced due to conflicting requirements on the feed elements. Dense packing is usually required to minimize the beam separation, while typically large feed apertures are needed to provide the high feed directivity to reduce spillover losses from the reflector. In this paper the use of dielectric super-layers to shape the radiation pattern of each feed is demonstrated. The shaping is obtained by exciting, according to design, a pair of TE/TM leaky waves. The spillover from the reflector is reduced without physically increasing the dimensions of each single element aperture. A prototype of a feed array composed of 19 waveguides arranged in a hexagonal lattice was designed, manufactured and tested. The measured embedded patterns provided an increase of the edge of coverage gain, with respect to the free space case, of at least 0.6 dB in an operating bandwidth (BW) of ap12%. Moreover when reactive loading of adjacent feeds is adopted the increase in the edge of coverage with respect to the free space case was demonstrated to be larger than 1.6 dB over a 3% BW.     

Focal shifts in parabolic reflectors

Given a parabolic reflector, the maximum directivity is not always achieved by placing the feed at the focal point. Depending on the nature of the feed, the maximum directivity can be obtained by axially displacing the feed either toward or away from the reflector. For low-tapered feeds, the shift should be toward the reflector. This result is similar to an optical phenomenon called the focal shift. We find that this positive shift depends mainly on the Fresnel number of the reflector. For highly tapered feeds, the shift should be away from the reflector. This negative shift becomes significant when the reflector aperture is small, in units of wavelength. A unified view is presented to explain both the positive shift and the negative shift in terms of spillover, aperture illumination efficiency and phase asynchronism. For a system with optimum aperture edge taper, no focal shift can exist.     

Experimental verification of the analysis of umbrella parabolic reflectors

Gored umbrella parabolic reflectors with symmetric aperture illumination have been treated analytically in a recent paper. This communication extends the analysis to the case where the primary feed illumination is not symmetric, because real primary feeds usually have unequalE- andH-plane beamwidths. The gore loss and the shift in the defocusing curve obtained using the modified gain expression are in excellent agreement with values measured for a smooth parabolic reflector and a gore parabolic reflector of the same diameter.     

Power focusing characteristics of ellipsoidal reflector

Power focusing characteristics of a prolate spheroidal reflector, the aperture of which is parallel to the line connecting the two focuses, are numerically studied. As a transmitting and a receiving antenna, linear wires with finite length are placed at or near the focuses of the reflector. Reflected near fields from the reflector are calculated by the physical optics technique, and transmitting and receiving antenna characteristics are obtained by the method of moments. Calculated results are given for the power focusing characteristics as a function of the eccentricity, the aperture size of the reflector, antenna directions, antenna lengths, and the receiving antenna displacement. Better power focusing characteristics are obtained when the transmitting antenna becomes less directive, or the size of the aperture becomes larger. Measured and calculated results agree very well.     

偏置抛物面天线圆极化版图成形波束工程理论的研究

本文根据矩形波导中隔片式圆极化器传输波型的渐变过程,导出了圆极化馈源的辐射场公式,并利用R.Mittra等作者提出的物理光学辐射积分Jacobi-Bessel级数展开方法对偏置抛物面天线圆极化版图成形波束的工程理论进行了研究。它包括:圆极化馈源辐射场公式;偏置抛物面电流等效投影孔径布分;二次辐射场计算公式;版图成形波束等效各向同性辐射功率(EIRP)工程计算公式;天线坐标、版图经纬度坐标与卫星坐标之间的变换关系;给出了七元馈源阵成形的我国西部版图圆极化波束的数值结果,其EIRP等电平曲线是计算机自动打印的,本文研究的理论方法可作为研制版图成形波束天线各阶段的基本分析工具。